1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coverings for architectural openings such as doors, windows and the like, and more particularly to a control system for a covering having a plurality of vertically suspended vanes that are moveable between extended and retracted positions as well as open and closed positions to control visibility and the passage of light through the architectural opening.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Covers for architectural openings such as doors, windows an the like have been known in various forms for many years. One form of such covering is commonly referred to as a vertical vane covering wherein a control system suspends and is operable to selectively manipulate a plurality of vertically suspended vanes such that the vanes can be moved laterally across the architectural opening to extend or retract the covering, an pivoted about longitudinal vertical axes to open and close the vanes.
Control systems for operating vertical vane coverings typically include a headrail in which a plurality of carriers, one associated with each vane, are movably mounted for lateral movement and include internal mechanisms for pivoting the vanes about their vertical axes. The headrails vary in construction and configuration to house the various types of carriers, but typically the headrails are relatively large in cross-section to enclose the working components of the system and have a slot along a bottom or side wall through which a portion of each carrier protrudes for connection to an associated vane.
An example of a control system wherein a headrail includes a slot along a side thereof through which a portion of the carriers protrudes is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,955 issued to Kaucic on Jan. 17, 1984. One problem with headrails having a slot in the side thereof resides in the fact that the slot is visible in the room in which the system is mounted and therefore is aesthetically unattractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,179 issued to Benthin on Nov. 30, 1982 discloses a headrail having an opening through the top thereof so as to improve the aesthetics of the headrail. The primary components of each carrier in the system are confined within the interior of the headrail, and generally C-shaped hangers associated with each carrier circumscribe the headrail so as to be in a position to support an associated vane from beneath the headrail. The Benthin patent accordingly acknowledges the desire of having the opening in the headrail concealed from normal view. The drawback with a system of the type disclosed in the Benthin patent resides in the fact that a majority of the working components of each carrier is confined within the headrail thereby necessitating a headrail with a fairly large cross-section which in and of itself is aesthetically unattractive.
A patent of interest from the standpoint of minimizing the size of the headrail is U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,636, which shows a relatively thin headrail having a slot in a rear wall thereof through which each carrier projects and wherein most of the carrier components are disposed outside the headrail. The headrail, while being relatively small, is oval in configuration with the broad side of the oval facing the interior of the room in which the system is mounted so as to undesirably present a relatively large profile.
As will be appreciated, while the prior art includes many different forms of control systems and headrails in which various types of carriers are movably mounted, they each suffer from aesthetic drawbacks related either to the size of the headrail at it is presented to the interior of the room in which the system is mounted or to the visibility of slots provided in the headrail. Further, most prior art systems are noisy in operation rendering them undesirable for that reason as well.
It is to overcome the shortcomings in prior art systems and to provide a new and improved control system that is easy to operate, quiet in operation, and aesthetically pleasing that the present invention has been made.
The control system of the present invention is adapted for use in a covering for an architectural opening and includes a very thin profile headrail which is a aesthetically attractive and a plurality of carriers supported by the headrail for independently supporting and pivoting connected vanes used in the covering. The carriers project through an opening in the top of the headrail which does not detract from the appearance of the covering. The carriers are interconnected by a scissors-type linkage so that the vanes suspended by the carriers can be stacked adjacent one or both sides of an architectural opening when the covering is retracted, but are uniformly spaced when the covering is extended to cover the architectural opening. The scissors-type linkage is disposed above the headrail and is also of a very thin profile so as not to be a detriment to the aesthetics of the system. A lead one of the carriers is connected to a traverse cord and is moveable by the cord longitudinally of the headrail or transversely of the opening in which the architectural covering is mounted, and movement of the lead carrier causes the remaining follower carriers to move therewith.
Each carrier is mounted on the headrail for smooth and quiet sliding movement and, in a first embodiment, includes a rack and pinion system for pivoting a suspended vane. The rack and pinion system is operatively engaged with a tilt rod that runs the length of the headrail. The tilt rod is mounted for rotative movement about its longitudinal a such that a manually operable tilt cord or wand disposed at one end of the headrail can selectively rotate the tilt rod in either rotative direction to reversibly effect pivotal movement of the vanes about their vertical longitudinal axes.
According to the first embodiment, the tilt rod is star shaped in cross section having a plurality of radially directed longitudinally extending teeth that engage a first set of teeth on a rack in each carrier such that rotative movement of the tilt rod effects translative or linear movement of the rack. A pivotal hanger pin in each carrier, which supports an associated vane, has a pinion gear adapted to operatively engage teeth on the rack so that translative movement of the rack causes pivotal movement of the carrier pin and consequently the vane connected thereto.
According to a second embodiment, the control system for a vertical blind that includes a plurality of vertically suspended vanes, each vane having a longitudinal axis, comprises an elongated headrail having a primary end cap, the vanes longitudinally movable along the headrail between an extended position and a retracted position a plurality of carriers operatively associated with and longitudinally movable along the headrail, wherein one vane is operatively associated with each carrier; a first control means for selectively moving the vanes between the extended position and the retracted position; and a second control means for selectively pivoting the vanes about pivot axes parallel to their longitudinal axes between an opened angular position and a closed angular position.
The components of the carriers are made of a low coefficient of friction plastic material and are configured in such a way that the contact area of the carriers with the headrail is minimized whereby the relative movement of the component parts is very quiet and smooth as is the sliding movement of the carriers along the length of the headrail. While the tilt rod is preferably made of a metal material, its engagement with the low-coefficient-of-friction plastic is likewise very quiet so that the entire mechanism is relatively noiseless operation.
Each carrier has only a minority portion thereof disposed within the hollow trough-like interior of the headrail so that the headrail can be of a thin profile. The remainder of each carrier is disposed above the headrail and overhangs a front side of the headrail. All of the visual components of the carrier are of thin dimension so as to present thin profile from inside the room in which the system is mounted.
As will also be appreciated, since the bottom of the headrail is closed, thereby hiding many of the working components of the system from the interior of the room where it is mounted, the bottom of the headrail prevents any working component from sagging, due to gravity, below the headrail.
The system further includes unique components for connection to the endmost vanes so that the covering can uniquely wrap around the ends of the headrail in a neat and attractive manner.
Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.